FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0045.PDF
JANUARY 27, 1927 comes to think of it, the type might almost appear to be the logical one for installation in an aircraft. In the case of the Beardmore " Typhoon," which measures perhaps some 4 ft. in height, the inverted position is certainly the obvious one. To get the line of thrust somewhere near in its proper position, it would be necessary to have the tall cylinders projecting upwards a very considerable distance, offering resistance and obstructing the view of the pilot. By reversing it the thrust line is kept in its natural position, the cylinders hang down in front of what has in any case to be a deep fuselage, and the nose, owing to the small width of the crankcase, can be narrowed down so as to obstruct the view forward as little as possible. Other advantages that may be expected from the inverted engine are : The greater facility with which gravity feed can be arranged, as the carburettors are automatically placed lower for the same position of crankshaft, and in all probability less noise, as both the exhaust ports and the overhead valve mechanism are situated much farther away from the cockpits, &c. It is not claimed that with these few items all the advantages of the inverted type of engine have been stated, but they do serve to show that there is much to be said in favour of so arranging an engine. In other respects also the Beardmore " Typhoon " breaks new ground, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that it represents a successful attempt to carry the development of the familiar six-cylinder in-line engine much further than had at one time been thought possible. To get at least 800 h.p. out of six cylinders is no mean achievement, but to obtain that power at a speed as low as somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1,350 r.p.m., is something so out of the common as to merit very close investigation. Unfortunately, Air Ministry restrictions prevent this from being done at the moment, but without contravening any rules it is possible to generalise. It will be realised that by keeping the number of cylinders down to six, the number of moving parts is very small indeed, which should greatly facilitate maintenance. Also the in-line arrangement results in an engine of low frontal area and consequently low drag. Of very great importance is the fact that the engine develops its power at low speeds of revolution. In a relatively slow aircraft, such as a bomber, or a commercial machine designed for flying normally at cruising speed, this means that good propeller efficiency can be obtained without the complication of gearing. While on this subject, we would refer to an article which appears in this week's issue of our technical supplement, THE AIRCRAFT ENGINEER. The author of this article, Mr. C. C. Walker, calls attention to the appalling waste of power with which we have hitherto cheerfully put up. This waste occurs in taking off and climbing, and may often result in less than 50 per cent, of the maximum power being utilised during a take-off. As regards commercial machines, the result is that we are limited not so much by what load per horse power a machine will carry, as by the load with which it will get off in a reasonable run. Mr. Walker points to the two-speed gear-box or the variable pitch propeller as the solution of the problem. It would appear that engines of the Beardmore "Cyclone" and "Typhoon" type, with their low speed of revolution, offer another solution. The high-speed aero engine obtains good fuel economy and light specific weight by its speed. That there are other"ways of attaining at any rate the former of these desiderata seems evident from the fact that it is claimed that a fuel and oil consumption of 0-46 lb./h.p. h is easily obtained with the ,, Typhoon." Concerinng the weight per horse-power of the Typhoon " we are not permitted to speak at the moment, but the figure is, at any rate, by no means excessive, and for nights of long duration the specific weight soon becomes of less importance than the fuel consumption. Although the speed of revolution is low in the " Typhoon " The Beardmore " Typhoon " Mark I, exhaust side. This engine, although of the six-cylinder in-line type, develops 800 h.p., and a later model is even more powerful. The speed is only about 1,350 r.p.m. the piston speed is probably very high, owing to the long stroke, but when we saw the engine flying in one of the Avro " Aldershot " bombers on January 24 at the Hamble aero- drome, there was a marked absence of vibration. In fact Mr. Bert Hinkler informed us, after his flights, that the engine ran remarkably smoothly. With the machine standing on the ground and the engine just " ticking over," a slight trace of vibration was noticeable, but certainly no more than is found in other engines under similar conditions. The installation of the " Typhoon " in the " Aldershot" is still of a somewhat experimental nature, but it is not diffi- cult to see that a very clean nose can be provided. At present the engine is almost totally exposed, but as it has been found that it tends to keep rather too cold, doubtless a certain amount of cowling and fairing will be tried, when a very efficient combination should result. The advantages of the engine are obvious, and the difficul- ties of producing any new engine, let alone one of unorthodox type, are so great that one can heartily congratulate Wm. Beardmore & Co., on their initial success. The engine has been in the air, and the rest is a matter for steady development. A logical outcome is, perhaps, the heavy-oil semi-Diesel engine, but that is " another story." Incidentally it seems very fit and proper that A. V. Roe & Co., the pioneers of British aviation, should provide the machine in which the new7 engine first took the air. Another milestone has been erected on the road of aviation progress. Institution of Aeronautical Engineers' Medals THE Council of the Institution of Aeronautical Engineers^^ ,unanimously decided to award the Sir Charles Wakcfield ^iedaltoMr.L. Bramson, A.C.G.I., M.I.AK.E., for his inventionme bavage-Bramson Anti-stall Gear. They also decided to award the Institution's silver medal to Flight-Lieut. G. H.Keid, D.F.C., for1-' ' ' ' . - -• the Reid inventions of the Reid Control IndicatorRe-action and Testing Apparatus'. Japanese Honour for R.A.F. Mechanic Fir i Kmg has Siven authority to Mr. William Thomas iW tC Alr Mechanic, First Class, R.A.F., to wear the confniaHf theSixth Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Tan 6r °n h'm for valuable services by the late Emperor of The Royal Air Force Memorial Fund THE usual Meeting of the Grants Sub-Committee of the fund was held at Iddesleigh House, on January 20. Lieut.- Commander H. E. Perrin was in the chair, and the other members of the Committee present were:—Mrs. L. M. K. Pratt-Barlow, O.B.E. and Squadron-Leader Douglas Iron, O.B.E. The Committee considered in all 17 cases, and made grants to the amount of /88 14,^. The next meeting was fixed for February 3, at 2.30 p.m. R.A.F. v. Cambridge University (Rugby) AT the R.A.F. v. Cambridge Rugby match played at Grange Road, Cambridge, on January 19, the R.A.F. team was beaten by two goals and five tries (25 points) to one goal and two tries (11 points).
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
